How to...

Many businesses have looked at and made steps towards creating a greener office in some capacity or another. Here at Recipro we have a number of environmental initiatives like our ‘Plastic Bag Reuse Box’ as well as other reuse & upcycling projects which promote healthy living and wellbeing. This week we will be looking at how our environment impacts on our mood and wellbeing starting with ‘the office’.

If you work and are spending more than third to one half of your day in an office environment then your surroundings there are as important as those in your home. Although we usually have little control over the buildings we work in, being aware of problems that can affect us will enable us to take counter-measures and may encourage the creation of stimulating and nurturing environments.

This week being World Green Building Week I decided to look at some of the factors that impact negatively on our health and well being when in an office environment and was shocked by how big an impact such small changes can make check out these shocking stats provided by worldgbc.org:

Having fresher air in an office can increase productivity by 11%

Access to views and good lighting can improve productivity by 23%

Allowing workers to see daylight can also increase productivity by a further 18%

Here are a few suggestions that you can change and will have a positive effect to you and your working environment:

Seating - Make sure that your chair is comfortable and has adjustable height and arms

Plants - Plants do more than just enhance the beauty of your surroundings, many actually clean toxins out of the air as they add oxygen and humidity to the indoor environment.

Take a break - One of the easiest and best ways to eliminate stress and recharge the body is to go outside for a ten-minute walk.

So a few small changes for your workers can have great benefits for the company and the workforce as a whole, what changes would you like to see in your work that you think would improve the environment – tweet us on @ReciproUK and use #Worldgbw2013!